Wentworth Season Five: A Queen Will Rise, Episode 4
by eragona1
Summary: Wentworth: Season Five, Episode 4. From the Mind of Aunty Liz. Elizabeth Ragona (Facebook #AuntyLizWW) Rated M. This is a fan-fiction story that takes place after the events in Season Four, and after my other stories for Season Five, Episodes 1, 2 and 3. This is NOT an official story from the makers of Wentworth.
1. Chapter 1

**Wentworth Season Five: A Queen Will Rise - Episode Four.**

From the Mind of Aunty Liz. Elizabeth Ragona (Facebook #AuntyLizWW) Rated M. This is a fan-fiction story that takes place after the events in Season Four, and after my other stories for Season Five, Episodes 1, 2 and 3. This is NOT an official story from the makers of Wentworth.

 **S5E4: Scene 1**

The morning light gave a soft glow through the frosted window as the two women cuddled in bed. Allie was seated at the head of the bed with her back against the wall and Bea was seated Indian-style in front of her. The younger woman's hands were mindlessly braiding her lover's hair as she recited the story she had been writing in her head.

"So she's a red-haired, pirate queen who goes around stealing only from the rich." Bea clarified.

"Yeah. She and her crew travel along the coast robbing other tall ships: you know, frigates, schooners, the big ones with lots of sails. And then she meets a girl in a port and takes her away."

"And I reckon this girl happens to have blond hair?" Bea asked.

"But of course." Allie looked at the tips of Bea's curls. "Your red is fading. Do you want to color it today?"

Bea thought for a moment. "You know; I don't think I will. I think I'll let it go natural. I'm not that person anymore." Allie kissed her lover's shoulder and got a purr in return. "So your pirate has a consort?"

"A what?"

"A consort. In the old days, when two people couldn't marry but were partners and lovers, they were called consorts."

"Oh, I like that. Yes, the pirate queen and her consort sail the coast stealing from the rich like Robin Hood."

"So they give the money to the poor?"

"No, they keep it for themselves."

"Ah, like Robin Hood but… not," Bea deduced.

Bea reached behind her and snuck a hand underneath her lover's arm and found a ticklish spot on her waist. Allie squirmed and tried to get away from the perpetrator on her right side but when she moved left, another hand was there ready to tickle her on the left side. Allie found herself tickle-attacked from both sides and let out a series of squeals and laughter that only made Bea more eager.

"Oooh. I didn't know you did that!" Bea laughed evilly as she spun around to face her giggling partner. "Where else are you ticklish?"

"Nowhere," Allie insisted as she tried to catch Bea's dancing hands. When her hands proved too quick to catch, Allie wrapped her arms around the laughing woman and pulled her into a hug. "I've got you now!" Allie gloated.

The older woman stopped and found herself nose to nose with her lover. Looking into bright blue eyes, she could only agree with that conclusion. "Yes, my beautiful girl. Yes, you do," she said as she moved just a little and kissed Allie's smiling lips.

As their kiss deepened, she could feel Allie's grip relax and her hands began to caress Bea's back. Bea's hands moved under Allie's shirt and when her thumbs moved along the roundness of Allie's breasts, the younger woman was no longer worried about being tickled. She let out a moan that told Bea that she had found a sensitive spot. As Bea's mouth moved from Allie's lips and down her neck, she could feel her lover's breathing get more rapid. Allie reached down to Bea's hips and pulled her closer.

A sharp knock on the door made Bea jump out of the bed and straighten her clothes and hair as Allie looked on amused. A second knock made Bea realize that the person was waiting to be allowed in.

"C… come…in," Bea stammered and then shook her head when she realized she felt like she did when her mother caught her and Harry making out.

Liz tentatively opened the door and peeked in to make sure everyone was dressed. She smiled at Bea, whose cheeks were still flushed. "You have visitors, Luv," she announced.

Puzzled, Bea pulled Allie up from the bed and they walked hand-in-hand out of the cell and found a crowd of women standing in H1. Representatives from each of the different cell blocks moved forward and handed her small gifts and welcomed her back to life and back to Wentworth. A few of the older women even seemed to be teary-eyed and when Bea asked what was wrong, one of them explained that they were glad she was alive but they were sorry that she wasn't free.

Bea thought about that for a moment and found herself smiling. She WAS alive and she was happy being right here beside Allie. She wrapped her arm around Allie's waist and pulled her close beside her.

"I'm where I want to be," Bea said to the older woman, who smiled at her and said a silent prayer for the two lovers.

As the women continued to bring gifts, they were piled on the table and the women of H1 and H3 were amazed at the bounty. Allie watched as Bea welcomed each person and thanked them for their gift and she saw just how much the women of Wentworth had really appreciated their Queen Bea.

Once all of the visitors had left, the H1 and H3 residents started to sort through the pile. A cough made them all turn around to find Sonia surrounded by Tina, Juice and several of Juice's crew.

"Hello, Bea," Sonia greeted her amicably. "How are you? I hope you are well."

"I'm alright," Bea answered cautiously.

"That is wonderful." Sonia came closer and put her hand out for Bea, who shivered from its coldness. "It is nice to know that your death was greatly exaggerated." Bea nodded. "I imagine that your friends have told you about the new community assistance program?"

"Do you mean the extortion for their money? Yes, I've heard about that."

"Now, now." Sonia looked around the room and shook her head with a frown. "Someone has misinterpreted the community assistance program. Everyone contributes and the taxes will be shared as appropriate."

"And who makes the decision about who gets a share?"

"I have been elected to that position, of course."

"Hmm. Of course." Bea didn't look impressed.

"Wonderful. Then I can assume your taxes will be paid up within the next twenty-four hours." Sonia looked at the pile of goods on the table, a jar of blueberry preserves made her mouth water.

"No," Bea said flatly.

Sonia turned, the look on her face was a barely contained threat. "Excuse me? I think I misunderstood you." She signaled two of the larger women to begin gathering the goods from the table.

"I said, 'No'," Bea spoke slowly and loud enough for everyone in the room to hear.

The two women stopped as Boomer stepped forward and took a pack of Monte Carlo's from one of them. When she started to object, Boomer grabbed the woman by the throat and began to squeeze.

"Boomer, let her go," Bea ordered quietly.

The large woman crumbled to the floor as Boomer tossed her away.

"Take that," Bea pointed to the goods on the table. "And that's the last time you will get anything from us. Me, Allie…" Bea looked around at Kaz and her newly increased family. "In fact, all of H1 and H3 will no longer participate in your extortion program." She tightened her grip on Sonia's small hand until she felt a crack. She leaned in closely and whispered to the older woman, "And if I find out you were involved in Allie's bashing, I will kill you."

Sonia patted Bea's arm, unperturbed. "I am certain that will not be necessary."

"Good. Now take your 'tax' and get out of here. And if any of you ever step in here again, I will break your legs."

"Careful, Bea," Sonia warned. "Someone might think that you are challenging the Top Dog. Is that what you are doing?"

"Take it from me, Sonia. A smart Top Dog knows when to pick her battles," the former top dog suggested.

"Yes, well, it seems that your battles have nearly gotten Allie killed or sent her running back to the gear. You would not want her to do that again, would you?"

"You bitch!" Bea growled and moved toward the older woman just as the Governor walked into the suite.

"Bea! Is everything okay here?" Vera asked.

"Yes, Miss Bennett," Bea answered docilely. "Sonia was just welcoming me back."

"I see. That's very nice." She looked at Sonia, who nodded sweetly. Then she looked around the room at the agitated women. "Shouldn't you all be headed for work duty?"

"Yes, Miss Bennett." "Yes, ma'am." "Yes, Governor." She heard them say as they trailed out of H1, leaving her alone with Allie and Bea.

Vera stepped closer to Bea. "What's your plan here, Bea?"

"I don't know, Governor. What's yours?" Bea growled.

"I will NOT have a war here." Vera said sternly.

"And I will not have Allie beaten or threatened again. If your fucking guards can't protect her, I will."

"Remember who you are talking to, Smith. Be careful that you don't leave yourself vulnerable… and alone."

Bea looked into her eyes. Would she move Allie to another cell block? Or another prison?

Allie could see the flush of anger rising in her lover and she stepped between them in an attempt to diffuse the situation. "Yes, Miss Bennett. We… we understand. Right, Bea?" Her voice cracked with emotion and tears started to well up in her eyes. "Thank you so much for taking care of us and making sure that we BOTH got through all of this alive. I'm really grateful to you and Mr. Fletcher for bringing Bea back to me. And I'm sure we'll work this all out with Sonia." A tear escaped and slowly glided down the side of her cheek.

Vera's anger faded as her heart warmed and thoughts of Matt made her body feel warmer, as well. "Yes… Um… You're welcome… I'm sure you will too," the small woman said as she tried to collect her wandering thoughts. She reached out and gave Allie a comforting pat on the arm and then pulled down her jacket and walked out.

Allie watched as Vera turned the corner. "That bitch!" Allie swore under her breath.

Bea looked at her lover in shock and found Allie's face dry-eyed and angry.

The young woman turned to her. "If that bitch thinks she can threaten to separate us, she has another thing coming. If they aren't careful, I'll challenge that old hag myself and take on Top Dog, and then Little Miss Vera Vinegartits won't know what to do with this place."

Bea shook her head. "That? The tears? That was all an act?"

"Of course. We can't have you bashing the governor on your first day back, now can we?" She looked at the clock. "Shit, I have to go to yoga class." She held out her hand for her lover. "Wanna come?"

"Fuuck," Bea breathed as she allowed herself to be walked down the hall. "They need to give you a Logie."

"Sweet!" Allie said cheerfully.


	2. Chapter 2

S5E4: scene 2

Bridget's walk sounded much more confident than she felt. She was still shaking from the conversation with Frankie last night. If it could be called that. It was more of a yelling match with a few lamps and pottery pieces tossed around for good measure. Shock, betrayal, mistrust, joy, relief and fear were too many emotions for Frankie to manage all at once.

Hearing from Will Jackson that Bea was alive after seeing both Bridget and a distraught Allie at the top dog's funeral was one thing; but feeling that she wasn't trusted enough to be included in the plan was entirely different. She thought that she and Bridget were partners. And maybe she had never had a serious partner before, but weren't you supposed to share the important stuff with them? With every angry question a lamp or statue or vase went crashing. And the psychologist couldn't really blame her.

But those questions lead Frankie to believe that Bridget didn't love her; and that's where Bridget drew the line. She'd met a lot of prisoners during her 20 years as a psychologist, and she had had one or two serious relationships; but no one had ever connected with her the way Frankie does. Shit! She had lost her job – twice! – over her feelings for the vibrant, intelligent woman, and she'd do it again and again if necessary. So when Frankie called her "a liar, a fake, and a whore," she let go of her emotional control and tossed a 700-year-old, blue and white Chenghua vase against the wall. The shock stopped Frankie's ranting and they were finally able to begin talking.

Bridget hated losing control like that. She had only ever allowed herself to do that one other time and that became the second worst day in her life. She was just glad that Shayne was working third shift at the hospital and didn't get caught up in the middle of the argument. They had spent the rest of the night cleaning up and making up; and now, Frankie was in line at Wentworth's visitor processing center.

She found her target in the yoga class and smiled as she peeked in the window. Ever since Bea woke up in the hospital, the two women were seldom more than an arm's length apart. Even now as they did their meditations at the end of the yoga class, they were sitting side-by-side. Their knees touched and their hands were back to back and Bridget could almost see the energy moving between them. She looked at her watch and decided to wait for the class to end.

"Ms. Westfall?"

The voice startled her and she jumped.

"Are you okay?" Officer Ford asked her, a look of concern on his face. "I saw you leaning against the wall and noticed that you seemed to be asleep."

"Yes. Yes. Thank you. I haven't had enough sleep or enough coffee today."

"Too right! Is there ever enough coffee?" He smiled and ran his fingers through his red beard. "Do you need anything?"

"I'm just waiting for…" The door opened and Bea and Allie emerged. "Ah, there they are." Bridget pulled them off to the side. "Hi there, you two. How's it going?"

Bea smirked at her and looked at Allie. "Well, we've been threatened by both the top dog and the governor this morning. So I'd say it was going about normal."

"Really?! Well, that's an interesting homecoming." Bridget shook her head and made a mental note to talk to Vera. "Bea? Do you have a bit? I need to borrow you."

"Yes. Um. What about Allie?" Bea didn't want her partner roaming around the halls unescorted.

"Mr. Ford, will escort her." Bridget looked at the officer who nodded. "Thank you so much. Allie, I'll have her back to you shortly, okay?"

After the governor's threat, Allie wasn't comfortable being away from Bea but since she was going with Bridget, there wasn't much she could do. "Righto. But only if you promise to take care of her."

Bea took her hand. 'You'll be okay?"

"Sure. PJ will look after me. It's okay, babe. If anyone messes with me, I'll just tell them that my queen will bash them."

"I'll do more than that," Bea said seriously. She gave Allie's hand a squeeze. "Back in a bit."

Bea watched until PJ and Allie had turned the corner before turning her attention back to Bridget. As they walked toward the visitor center, Bridget tried to find out more about what had happened with Vera.

"So what happened with the governor?" Bridget inquired.

"It seems the governor is expecting me to walk right back into being Top Dog without any opposition. But there are two things she doesn't understand."

Bridget looked at her and waited for the answers.

"One: it doesn't work that way. There will always be blood." She looked at Bridget to see if she understood and Bridget nodded.

"And the other?" Bridget asked after a moment.

"I don't want the job."

"Ah. I see. That's certainly something." Bridget was quiet for a moment. "So what WOULD you like to do?"

"I want to work in the garden; maybe grow some tomatoes and spinach, oh, and pumpkins. Read books. Draw. And be with Allie." Bea shook her head in frustration. "I just want a normal life. As much as a person can have in here anyway. I'm tired. I'm tired of fighting, looking over my shoulder for the next shiv, and being a pawn in some governor's game to keep her job. And I don't want to have to worry about Allie getting ganged in the showers or getting shivved in the yard because she's with me."

"And what about Sonia?" Bridget asked.

"Isn't that YOUR job? All of you," Bea waved her hand s in a big circle.

"There needs to be a liaison between the prisoners and the staff, Bea, or trust will disintegrate. And without trust, guards will have to be stricter and prisoners won't get the kind of freedoms they have now. Think about it, Bea. Without trust, there would be no way that I would be allowed to walk down this hallway with a convicted murderer without a guard escort." Bridget looked at Bea to see if she understood the point.

"I see your point," Bea conceded.

"The money we save on guards can be used for educational programs, art programs, better qualified medical staff and better food. And everyone's quality of life increases and recidivism decreases."

They reached the door to the Visitor Center and Bridget put a hand on Bea's arm. "I hope you will reconsider, Bea. With you and Governor Bennett working together, Wentworth could really become a model for rehabilitation and reintegration."

Bea nodded. "I'll think about it, Bridget."

She gave Bea a big smile as she opened the door. "I appreciate that, Bea." She pointed to a table and winked at the woman sitting there. "Your visitor."

Bea walked in and the door closed behind her. She took a moment to take in all of the room: a mother surrounded by several small children and a crying baby at one table, Snortz and her parents at another, Kim Chang being berated by her mother in Filipino, and an older prisoner who was with someone who looked very much like a twin sister in nearly identical clothes.

As she scanned the room, she found Frankie at the table in the corner and rushed to greet her. Frankie met her halfway with her arms outstretched and they collided into a fierce hug. As they rocked and swayed, Frankie reveled in the feeling of holding the woman who had become her ally and greatest friend. She leaned back and looked at the woman who had died and come back to life more times than she could believe.

"Hey, Red," she finally managed to say.

"Hey, Frankie," Bea answered, her voice cracking with emotion. "Thanks for coming." She hugged her again. "I'm so sorry that we couldn't tell you what was going on."

"Uh huh." Frankie stepped back and her face changed from joy to anger. "Where did the Freak get you? Was it your stomach?" Bea nodded.

"Just your stomach?" Frankie confirmed. Bea nodded again.

Frankie punched her in the shoulder.

Bea nearly doubled-up in pain as Officer Webb took two steps toward the women but stopped when Frankie raised her hands. "Sit down, Frankie," she ordered and the former prisoner complied.

"SHIT, Frankie. What was that for?!" Bea asked as she rubbed her shoulder.

Frankie ticked off the reasons on her fingers. "For not telling me about your plan to commit suicide-by-Freak when I came to visit you in the hospital. For lying to me and letting me think you were dead. For letting them have a fucking funeral with an urn and flowers and some tribal dance by Mr. Jackson."

Bea stopped her. "I didn't know about the funeral."

Frankie cocked her arm back and prepared hit Bea again. "Doyle! Do it and I will personally re-incarcerate you and give you a full cavity search."

"Oooh, Officer Webb, I've missed this." Frankie moved her hands back and forth. "I've always enjoyed your strip searches."

Peta rolled her eyes and shook her head as she walked back over to her post at the door.

Frankie turned her attention back to Bea as she took Frankie's hand. Bea looked at her and sighed. "I really am sorry, Frankie. Everything went so quickly and there weren't any cell phones at the safe house in case anyone was trying to track the signals. The Lieutenant from the witness protection unit also said that Matt and I couldn't send letters because he didn't want anyone changing their attitude and becoming happy while they should be in mourning."

"Well, I'm not happy," Frankie pouted and Bea kicked her under the table. "OW!"

"Frankie!" Officer Webb threatened from across the room and Frankie gave Bea a look as if she were about to let out a string of curse words. Bea smiled at her and Frankie just laughed.

"So how are you doing, Red?" Frankie asked soberly. "You healing okay?"

"Yeah. The muscles are still a little stiff but nothing's leaking on the inside, so that's good."

"Yeah? That's good. You look better," Frankie observed. Bea shrugged, the answer too complicated to put into words.

Frankie looked at Bea for a moment and smiled. Bea had a pretty good idea what Frankie was thinking and a big, silly grin stretched across her face and a flush of red worked its way up her neck and over very chiseled cheeks.

"AH HA!" Frankie laughed. "I see you're feeling better too."

"Frankie!"

Frankie laughed at her very embarrassed friend. "So what did you think?" she asked, trying to control her grin.

Bea looked at her with wide eyes and let out a sigh of wonder. "I never even imagined it could be like that. I never knew I could feel that way or make someone else feel that way. Harry never did anything like that. It was always about him."

Frankie nodded sadly, understanding. "Well, you should have taken me up on that offer when you first got there and you'd have found out a lot sooner." Frankie winked at her.

"Frankie!" Bea exclaimed as she kicked her laughing friend.

"Smith! Stop kicking your visitor!" Officer Webb ordered and Bea looked flabbergasted as Frankie laughed even louder.

They talked for a while longer when Frankie finally asked, "Have you seen her?"

"Who?" Bea wondered.

"The Freak."

"What? She's here?!"

"Yeah. Bridget said she came last night after they brought you."

"Fuck! She was supposed to go to another state. They should have sent her to the fucking back of beyond. They promised me that she wouldn't be incarcerated here!" Bea stood up and Frankie tried to stop her. "NO! If she's here then all of this was for nothing!"

Bea turned to go and ran right into the mother and crying baby, who proceeded to toss up her morning feeding all over Bea's shirt.

"Bea!" Frankie tried to stop her.

"Smith, go get washed up!" Officer Webb ordered and opened the door for her.

"I'll talk to you later, Frankie!" Bea yelled as she stormed out of the Visitor Center and down the hall toward the governor's office. She passed several inmates along the way who made faces and held their noses from the sour smell. "Shit," Bea thought to herself. "I can't go in there like this."

She turned and walked down the short hall to the showers and pushed open the door to find herself surrounded by Juice and her crew.

Big M could hear them laughing as she walked by the shower room and heard Bea's grunts. She opened the door to see what was going on and saw the former top dog on the floor, her face bloody and bruised.

"Grab her!" Juice growled and a hand grabbed M's hair and pulled her into the room. A cloth was shoved into her mouth as she kicked and struggled. And a fist to her gut made her double over in pain, struggling to breathe.

She was held by her arms and was forced to watch as the women took turns kicking Bea in the face and chest and back. When Juice flashed the broken end of a mop handle, Big M began to scream through the cloth and struggled harder to try to escape the hands holding her. She landed a kick to the kneecap of her captor, who screamed in pain and let her go.

She rushed Juice and tried to take the stick away, but the older woman was more solid than she appeared and M found herself in a choke hold. As she faded into unconsciousness, the woman by the door said they needed to leave and Juice tossed her into the shower stall. Big M hit her head on the tile wall and blacked out as Juice's crew scrambled out of the room.


	3. Chapter 3

**S5E4: Scene 3**

"Have you seen Bea?" Bridget asked Allie, trying to sound unconcerned.

"No. Why!? What's wrong?!" She put down the book she was reading and sat upright on the couch.

"I need to speak with her, that's all. I was wondering if she was back from visiting with Frankie."

"She hasn't come back yet. How long has she been missing?!" Allie stood up and slipped her sneakers on. She knew she shouldn't have let Bea go without her.

Bridget put her hands up and tried to calm Allie. "I don't know that she's actually missing but she learned something that made her upset and I wanted to talk to her about it."

"What did she learn?" Bridget wasn't sure she should tell and have to deal with both of the women. Allie put her hand lightly on Bridget's arm. "Bridget? What did she learn?"

"Joan Ferguson was processed last night and will be completing her sentence here."

"Fer…the Freak? Here? Fucking hell! She's here and now you can't find Bea?! FUCK!"

"Allie! We need to stay calm. Frankie thinks Bea was going to see the governor but she had a mishap with a visitor's baby and had to change clothes. She may just be washing off."

"Washing off! In the fucking shower!?" Allie shouted.

"Who's fucking in the shower?" Boomer asked as she and Maxine came in from working in the laundry.

"Bea is missing! I need to go check the showers!" Allie started running down the hall.

Boomer looked at Maxie. "I'll be okay. Go with her!" Maxie urged and Boomer took off as fast as she could.

As Allie ran down the hall, she saw Officer Ford walking up the stairs. "PJ!" she shouted without slowing down.

The officer turned and started running after Allie, with Boomer and Bridget quickly behind him. Allie hit the shower room door and slammed it open. Bea was on the floor on the far end near the sinks and a pair of feet stuck out of a shower stall. She slid to a stop on her knees beside Bea, calling her name and patting her face. Bea was breathing but Allie was worried about the amount of blood coming from Bea's nose and the gash on her forehead.

PJ ran in and slide down on the other side of Bea. He felt for a pulse and checked her eyes. Then he rushed over to the crumpled body in the shower. Big M had a split in her head from hitting the wall and blood had puddled beneath her on the shower floor. He pulled his radio off of his belt and called a Code Black in the shower room.

Bea moaned as she began to regain consciousness and called Allie's name.

Allie squeezed her hand. "I'm right here. Hold on. We've got help coming. You stay with me."

"I'm okay. How's M?"

"Bea, there's a lot of blood. I don't know."

Nurse Ratliff came in, followed by two guards pushing gurneys. After making sure Bea was okay to move, they lifted her onto a gurney. Big M was carefully strapped to a back board and gently lifted onto another gurney. And then the two women were rushed to the medical unit with Allie, Bridget and Boomer following behind.

When they got to the medical unit, Nurse Ratliff made everyone wait in the hall but Allie refused to leave Bea's side. When the nurse started to insist, Vera came in and told her that it would be okay for Allie to stay. The nurse shrugged and continued examining her patients.

She removed the gag from M's mouth and started to throw it on the floor but Bridget stopped her.

"Save that. There may be something on it that can tell us who did this." The forensic psychologist ordered.

The nurse put the cloth in a metal pan and then she checked M's eye response and heart rate. When she rubbed her fist on M's chest, M's eyes fluttered open but further examination made the nurse grateful when the EMT's arrived. Bridget waited with Allie as the nurse briefed the paramedic and was concerned when she overheard words the words "reflexes unresponsive." They rolled M out of the medical unit and down the hall and the nurse looked at Bridget and gave her the tiniest shake of her head.

Someone had run to get Kaz from the kitchen and she and the Red Right Hand were gathered in the hall waiting with Boomer. As the EMT's wheeled M out, Kaz walked with them for as far as she could, holding her small hand. "I'll see you back here soon. I'm going to need my captain. There's a war coming."

Big M's face turned serious. "Back soon," she promised as Kaz squeezed her hand. "Kaz?" she said quietly. Kaz looked at her inquisitively. "It was Juice," she said as the EMT's wheeled her out the door.

Kaz looked up and when she saw the look on Boomer's face, she knew the big woman had heard M. She could see Boomer's hands begin to shake and her face turned red as anger took control.

"Boomer?" Kaz said cautiously.

"No," Boomer growled lowly as she started to rock back and forth.

"Boomer," Kaz said quietly. She could see that the woman was about to burst.

"Noooo," Boomer growled again.

"Boomer, we need to stay calm."

"NO!" Boomer shouted. "I'M GOING TO FUCKING KILL HER!"

"BOOMER!" She could hear Bea shout from inside the medical unit. "GET IN HERE!"

Boomer pushed through the door and it slammed against the wall. "WHAT!?"

Everyone jumped but no one made a move to stop her.

Bea was sitting up, a bandage on her forehead and blood caked in her hair and the side of her face. "Come here," Bea said calmly.

Boomer walked over to her, shaking and boiling inside. Bea put her hands on Boomer's cheeks and brought her face down so she could look into her eyes. "Wait."

"NO!" Boomer shouted and tried to pull away from Bea's grasp.

Bea didn't let go and she kept looking in Boomer's eyes. "Boomer," Bea said calmly. "We need to wait."

"What the fuck for?"

"For Maxie. And for me. We can't fight a war right now."

"I want to kill her!"

"I know you do. But if something happens to you, who's going to take care of Maxine?"

"For fuck sake!" Boomer curse.

Bea pulled her in and put their foreheads together. As Boomer began to cry, Bea put her arms around her and rocked her.

"They hurt her. All she was trying to do was save you."

"I know. I know." Bea kept rocking her. "We'll make it right. I promise you. We'll make it right."

Bea looked over Boomer's shoulder at Vera, who shook her head and walked out.


	4. Chapter 4

S5E4: Scene 4

"So when are we going to bash some heads?" Boomer asked as she paced in front of the cafeteria serving line.

"When Bea tells us to," Kaz answered as she filled two plates of dinner. "Will you quit pacing and get your dinner?"

"I'm not hungry. I want to bash heads." Boomer changed directions and continued to walk back and forth. "Since when did you care what Bea thought anyway?"

"Since she was willing to give her life to get that fucking Freak out of here."

"That's fine! Now we don't have to deal with her. But we have to do something about Juice and Tina."

Kaz looked at her and shook a finger. "Take care of the head and the body will fall." Boomer looked at her and blinked. "We get rid of Sonia and Juice and Tina will go back underground."

"I WANNA DO THE BURYING THEN!"

"Calm it, Jenkins," Linda Miles ordered from across the room.

"I wanna do the burying," Boomer repeated more quietly.

Kaz looked at her and nodded. "You and me both. I promise you, Booms, for what they've done to Allie, Bea and M, they won't go unpunished." She put her hand out and Boomer slapped it.

"Too FUCKING right," Boomer agreed. "Fuck! I'm hungry now." She pushed her way into the line and filled her plate, ignoring the complaining women already in line.

Kaz put the two plates she filled onto a rolling cart and covered them. She added silverware and a few napkins and told Linda she was headed to Medical. Linda nodded and went back to ignoring the growl in her stomach.  
******************

Bea was curled up asleep on the bed in Medical. The nurse had given her a sedative to help with the pain running throughout her body and ordered her to stay the night for observation.

Bea was still on blood thinners to make sure that she didn't develop blood clots from all of the intestinal injuries. So Nurse Radcliffe was worried about the bruises on her body and the laceration on her forehead, and wanted to make sure the bleeding stopped.

Allie was sitting in a chair at the foot of the bed, placing herself between the door and Bea. She had a leg curled under and was reading an anatomy book she found on the shelf. She was looking at the section about the stomach and intestines, and realized how lucky Bea was that the Freak hadn't turned the screwdriver up and into any one of the major organs above the intestines. She looked over at her sleeping lover and saw the frail and vulnerable body that barely protected the strong, passionate woman. How much more could she take?

"She tries to protect everyone else but who looks out for her?" Allie thought to herself. "I will," she told herself. "I will for as long as she lets me."

Bea stretched as she woke up. "Allie?" she called, still mostly asleep.

Allie stood up and put the book on the chair. "I'm here."

She went to the side of the bed and took Bea's outstretched hand. Bea pulled herself up and hung her legs over the side, and then she pulled Allie between her legs and hugged her. Allie held her and caressed her unruly curls as they softly rocked side-to-side. Just holding her felt so good. The smell of Bea's hair, the feeling of her arms wrapped around Allie's waist, the warmth of her body; she had missed this and had been worried that they might never see each other again.

They both knew that when Allie left the hospital and returned to Wentworth, there was a good chance she might not survive. And when Bea left the hospital and went to the Back of Beyond with Fletcher, they were leaving themselves vulnerable to any killer hired by Joan Ferguson. They hadn't seen each other in almost a month and now, in just 24 hours, they'd both been beaten up. How much more could they both take?

"It feels so good to hear your heartbeat," Bea whispered as she ran her hands up Allie's back and pulled her in tighter.

"Oh, Bea, I've missed you so much."

"I've missed you too. I've missed hearing you laugh. And touching you."

"I've missed that part too."

"Have you really?" Bea asked, surprised.

"Are you kidding me?" Allie stepped back so she could see Bea's face. "Bea, I was a whore. I've fucked a lot of people." She looked at Bea to see if she understood and Bea grimaced and looked down, the words she once said echoing in her mind. "Bea… Bea, look at me please." The older woman couldn't look up. She was trying very hard not to cry because she had hurt the person she loved most in the world. Allie put her hand under Bea's chin and gently lifted her face. "You… are the first person who has EVER made love to me."

Happiness and tears burst from Bea and she pulled Allie down for a kiss. "Oh, my beautiful, I love you so much."

"And I love you back." Allie hugged her tightly but pulled back when she heard Bea hiss in pain. "Let me see," Allie asked as she helped Bea lie down on her stomach. She lifted her lover's shirt and saw the bruises that ran from her shoulders down to her lower back. "Jesus," Allie whispered.

"It looks worse than it feels."

"Um hmm. I'm gonna make sure that Juice FEELS worse than you look."

Bea rolled over and gave Allie a loving smirk.

"I am." Allie confirmed. "You just wait and see. Nobody hurts my girl and gets away with it."

"I'm your girl?" Bea asked playfully.

"Shit yeah! We had a girlfriend ceremony and everything."

"Mmmm. Yes, we did." Bea put her hand on Allie's neck and pulled her down for a long, slow kiss.

The door opened and Kaz walked in with two trays. "Fuuuck. Will you two get a room!?"

"We have a room." Bea answered.

"We have two rooms," Allie corrected. "Ooh, maybe tomorrow we could try my room." Bea turned bright red and Kaz rolled her eyes. "Or maybe I could switch with Liz and we could bang down the wall and make one big room. Ooh, and ask for a big bed. No! We should ask the governor for a conjugal visit. With that king-sized bed we could…"

"Allie!" Bea and Kaz stopped her.

"What?" Allie gave them the most innocent look and Bea just grinned and shook her head as she let her mind wander.

"I'm going to have to get used to this," Kaz thought to herself. "She's picked Bea and if I really love her, I'll be happy for her." She put on a smile and tried to hide the melancholy look in her eyes.

Allie saw it but she knew it was better for Kaz to work through that on her own. "Whatchu got for us, Mama?"

"Dinner: hamburger patty, rice, carrots and salad."

She handed each of them a plate and they faced each other, Allie put her carrots on Bea's plate and Bea put her salad on Allie's plate. Allie sat on the bed beside her lover and they each took a fork from Kaz. Kaz watched them eat for a minute and when they stopped to look at her, she picked up the chair and sat down in front of them. They looked at her and then at each other.

"What?" Bea asked.

"So what's the plan?" Kaz asked.

"Are you asking if there's going to be a war?" Bea asked. Kaz nodded once. "That depends." Bea wiggled her fork at her. "Whose side are you going to be on?"

Kaz looked at her for a moment. Then she stood up and put her hand out. "Yours."

Bea took her arm and they shook like gladiators, like comrades. Allie put her hand on top and then kissed each one quickly on the cheek.

"Allie!" they both exclaimed.

Allie laughed as she saw the blood rise in each of them. "Yup. This is going to be fun. Can we go to war NOW, babe?" she asked her lover.

"Fuck yeah," Bea said as she knocked knuckles with Kaz. Kaz sat down and they laid out a plan as Queen Bea and her consort finished their dinner.


	5. Chapter 5

S5E4: Scene 5

Bridget opened the door to her home and the warm light and wonderful scents from the kitchen washed over her. Frankie looked up as she closed the door and smiled.

"Hi, Babe! You've got to try this," Frankie urged as she waved a wooden spoon toward her. "I found some great prawns at the market this afternoon and they had fresh ling. I think this is the best bouillabaisse I've ever made."

"Here ya go, Bridget," Shayne smiled and handed her a glass half-filled with her favorite Rioja. She took it and took a sip and pointed toward the bedroom door.

Frankie nodded and turned on the radio with the remote. She turned the jazz music on just loud enough for it to be heard around the house but not blow out the neighbors. Shayne put out three place settings around the table and tried to sneak a prawn out of the pot while Frankie was checking the bread in the oven but got the spoon on the knuckles for his efforts. When Bridget didn't come back out, Frankie handed Shayne the spoon.

"Don't eat all the prawn, ya hear," Frankie ordered as she set the fire under the red Creuset pot to a low flame.

"Who me?" Shayne looked wounded.

"Yeah, you. Just stir every five minutes."

He took a quick taste of the hot soup and then went back to the algebra homework that was due in the morning. Bridget had helped him get enrolled at Victoria University and since it was only a half mile from the hospital, he was able to work third shift as an orderly and then take a couple of morning classes before coming home and crashing.

He did so well on the maths entrance exam that they put him in a First Year algebra class while he also attended a college orientation class to help him get used to the university programs. They all agreed that it would be best for him to start out slowly and see what he could manage. He'd only been at the university for a month, but he loved the atmosphere and his classes, and there was a girl in his maths class that asked if they could study together some time.

After he finished a couple of homework problems, he stirred the soup, looked around and snagged a prawn. He moaned in delight as the garlic, chili and orange flavors burst from the firm, pink meat. He put the cover back on and continued with his homework.

Frankie walked down the hall to their bedroom and opened the door to find Bridget sitting on the bed, one shoe in her hand. When she saw the blood on the shoe, she closed the door and kneeled down in front of her lover.

"What the fuck happened? Whose blood is that?" Frankie asked in a barely controlled whisper.

Bridget starred at the shoe but didn't answer.

"Gidge? What happened?" Frankie put a hand on her knee and Bridget looked at that but still didn't look up. When a tear started sliding down the older woman's face, Frankie took the shoe out of her hands and pulled her into a hug. Bridget allowed herself to be held as her tears fell silently.

Frankie leaned back to look at Bridget's face. "Bridget," she said quietly. "You're scaring me. I've never seen you like this and normally you're the one trying to get me to talk." Frankie kissed her cheek softly. "Are you hurt?"

Bridget looked at her and shook her head.

"Did someone at the prison get hurt?" Bridget nodded. "Was it Red? Did Red get hurt?" Bridget nodded. "What the fuck?! Is she dead, like for real this time?!" Bridget shook her head. "Will you stop shaking your head around and talk to me? Is that her blood?" Frankie could see places on her jacket and pants that were still dark from the blood.

"I don't know," Bridget had to clear her voice, she was so dry. "Bea and another girl were badly beaten. There was so much blood, Frankie. Bea is okay but the other girl may not make it. She lost a lot of blood and there was some problem with her motor system. They may have damaged her spine when they hit her or when she hit the wall."

"But Bea's okay?"

"Yes. She said the girl was trying to save her. From the way Bea's clothes were torn, I imagine she was trying to save Bea from being raped."

"Do you know who did it?"

"They won't say but Vera suspects it was Lucy Gambaro."

"Fuck. And Allie? Where's Allie?"

Bridget paused for a moment. "When I left them, Allie was with Bea in Medical. The nurse gave Bea a sedative and Allie was sitting with her. Vera went to the hospital to check on the other inmate. I had reports to finish and I tried to clean up but I guess I missed some." She started to remove her other shoe.

"Here, let me," Frankie gently pushed her hands away and removed her shoe and stockings. Then she helped Bridget stand up and removed her jacket, putting it on a chair next to the dresser. She unbuttoned her shirt, pushing it off her shoulders, and Bridget shivered in the cool air. Frankie pulled a t-shirt from the dresser and helped Bridget put it on, and then unzipped the blue and black plaid skirt and let it fall to the floor. Then she rolled the warm comforter back and helped Bridget get into bed, tossed the skirt onto the chair and climbed into bed beside her. She pulled Bridget into her arms and held her, waiting silently to see if Bridget would begin talking.

"You haven't seen a prison fight before, have you?" she finally asked.

Bridget shook her head. "No. I normally get called after everyone has been patched up to assess state of mind, risk of suicide, motive. But when you told me how Bea reacted finding out Ferguson was there, I thought I'd better make sure she was okay. Why did you tell her that, Frankie?"

"Well, I thought she already knew since you told me. It was all over the news that she'd be staying in Victoria, and Wentworth is the only maximum security prison in the state. I'm really sorry, Gidge. I really thought she already knew."

"No, you're right. Anyone would have expected her to know but with Allie getting attacked, and then her surprise homecoming in H-Block, by the time the evening was over and she was alone, I just didn't want to disturb her homecoming with Allie."

"Ah, so that's why she turned as red as her hair used to be." Frankie chuckled.

Bridget swatted her arm. "Are giving Bea a hard time about that, Frankie?"

"Who me?"

Bridget raised her head and looked at her suspiciously.

"Weeeeell, nothing more than I'd give my own sister if I had one."

"Go easy on her, Frankie. She's been through a lot. After the drowning incident, I was worried that we'd lose her and we nearly did when she thought Allie was gone. I think Allie can bring her some happiness and help her focus on being top dog again."

"I reckon she'd rather not be top dog now. No one survives being top dog."

"You did."

"Only because Queen Bea had revenge on her mind. She was more interested in killing Brayden Holt than killing me. And if Ferguson had had her way, we would have tried to kill each other."

"Why do you think it didn't go that far?"

"Because Ferguson couldn't control Red… and because of you." Bridget looked up at her lover unsure of what she meant. "You got me focused on my parole. You got Vinegar Tits off my ass and actually gave me some hope that I might get out of there alive. I wasn't so sure when the Freak started messing with my hearing and then Mr. Jackson got the tape. I thought it was all over. But you were there at the hearing; I think what you said made a difference."

"I meant every word. I truly believe that you were ready and everything you've done since you have gotten out proves that: taking care of Shayne, working at the Legal Aid office, reconnecting with your father. You've really come so far and I'm proud of you, and I love you."

"I love you too. I love my life and I love that you're a part of it."

"Me too, baby." Bridget pushed herself up and gave Frankie a quick kiss. "So… you made bouillabaisse? I'm starving."

Frankie jumped over her and pulled Bridget to her feet. "Then let's get you fed."

"Frankie?" Bridget pulled her hand and stopped her before she opened the door.

"Yeah?"

"Thank you." Bridget pulled her in and kissed her softly. Unsure what to say, Frankie just smiled at her and kissed her back.


	6. Chapter 6

S5E4: Scene 6

As Vera walked through the dark hospital parking lot, she realized that this was just the beginning. As much as she wanted to keep the status quo, as long as Bea Smith was alive and in her prison, there would always be a battle for top dog. She was too strong a force, too independent and there were too many others that Bea had already defeated: Jacqueline Holt, Frankie Doyle, and now, Joan Ferguson.

Vera knew that it would only be a matter of time before Sonia Stevens demanded fealty but she didn't expect it to come so soon. Bea hadn't even been there 24 hours and she was lying in Medical beaten, bruised and almost raped. And Mel Barrett was in critical condition with a massive brain injury and a shattered vertebra that may keep her from ever walking again. Although no one had actually admitted it, Vera was pretty sure that Lucy Gambaro had something to do with it, the same way she believed that Gambaro was also involved in the attack on Joan Ferguson.

Vera shook her head. There were times when she wished the gap between prisoners and staff wasn't so wide. "If someone would speak up then I could deal with it," she thought to herself.

She reached her car and as she stood there with her key in the door, her mind made a list of all the things she had to deal with right now: she needed three new guards, the budget had to be reviewed, there was a leak in the roof over D Block, if Barrett survived her head injury she would have to make arrangements for assistive care, Matt's called twice, she hadn't eaten since lunch, and she wanted to pommel Will for leaving her to deal with this all alone.

"Hi, Miss Bennett. Is everything okay?"

The young man's voice startled her and she jumped.

"Sorry! I didn't mean to scare you."

"No. It's okay. Hi Shayne. How are you?"

"I'm bonzer. Are you okay? You've been standing here for a while. Having trouble with your car?"

"Um… no… I was just thinking."

"Musta been deep shit." He caught himself. "Sorry."

"That's quite alright. Yes, it was pretty deep." She laughed.

"Yeah, I think like that sometimes. Frankie catches me all the time and gets worried but I tell her 'it's just stuff in me head' and not to worry."

Vera smiled at the thought of Frankie taking care of a teenager. "How is Frankie?"

"She's good. They're giving her some of her own cases at Legal Aid, and she made a bouillabaisse tonight that was ripper."

"Mmm, that sounds good."

"She was mad when she got home last night but she said that she and Bridget had a long talk while I was at work and she's better today. I'll ask her to save you some of the soup and Bridget can bring it to you tomorrow. You comin' round for dinner on Saturday? She wants to try a new recipe for blackened barramundi."

"Oh God, yes, that sounds wonderful. You're making me even hungrier, Shayne."

"I've got some Tam Tams. Here," he reached in his backpack and handed her the pack of cookies. "This should tide you until you get to supper."

"Are you sure?"

"Yeah. I've still got some in my locker." The alarm on his watch went off. "Hey, sorry. I've got to go in now." He started to leave. "You sure you're okay?"

"Yes. Yes. I'm fine. And thank you for the Tam Tams."

"Yes, ma'am. See you on Saturday." He waved and took off running.

"SEE… you," Vera realized he was already out of hearing range unless she shouted. She shook her head. It felt surreal to be talking about Frankie Doyle as if she was an old friend with the young man who called Joan Ferguson his god-mother. But she knew Bridget was right: Frankie had a lot of potential and she seemed to be doing well outside of prison. She felt glad that she had given Frankie a second chance and that she didn't fire Bridget over their relationship.

She got in her car and her stomach growled so she opened the pack of cookies and ate one while she dialed a phone number. "Might as well solve two problems at the same time," she thought to herself.

The phone was answered on the third ring. "Hi, it's me," she paused.  
"Can we talk?"  
"Have you eaten yet? I haven't eaten since lunchtime and I'm dying for the gnocchi at DiStacio's."  
"Great. Meet me there in a half hour?"  
********************

Vera was already seated when Will arrived at the St. Kilda-area restaurant. She loved the atmosphere, the sharp looking waiters, and the amazing Italian food. Café Di Stasio was an institution in Melbourne and Vera's favorite restaurant. They gave their orders to the waiter and then Will waited for her to start.

She sighed and tried to put her thoughts in order. "Will, I need you back. You're the best person on my team and with Bea Smith back there's going to be a war. The lines are forming and it's already begun. She was attacked today and nearly raped but was saved by one of Proctor's crew, who may not survive the injuries she sustained. H1 and the Red Right Hand have allied against Sonia Stevens, Gambaro's crew and Tina Mercado. If Barrett dies, Proctor will be out for blood and after the attack on Allie Novak yesterday, Bea will probably be right beside her."

She looked at him and waited to see what he would say but he just sat there playing with his ice water.

"Look, I'm sorry I didn't include you in the whole plan to hide Smith and Matt from Joan Ferguson. The prosecutor was worried that anyone who knew would be at risk and we didn't want to put you in that position."

"Why?"

"Because if something happens to me, you're the most qualified person to run Wentworth Correctional Centre and we wanted to keep you safe."

"Who was going to keep you safe?"

"It's my job to accept those risks, particularly if it protects my staff and the inmates who are in our care."

"I will come back on one condition."

"What's that?"

"Never shut me out again."

"Then I have a condition as well." He gave her a questioning look. "I need you to get off the gear and stay off. I can't have you compromised by prisoners or other staff members. Do the counseling, go to the NA meetings, and stay clean. You're a good man, Will, and the women trust you. I'm trying to make a difference inside Wentworth and if they find out that you're getting high when you go home, we will lose that trust."

"Okay," he agreed. "I'll do that."

"Good. Thank you." Vera smiled at him, genuinely relieved that he would be back on her team.

"So what happened today?"

She shook her head and recounted the day's events until her phone rang. She answered the phone and listened as Linda Miles described the situation.

"Okay. Thank you. Just leave everything for now and I'll take care of it." She hung up the phone and looked at Will. "How soon can you come back to work?"


	7. Chapter 7

**S5E4: Scene 7**

The hallways were at half-light and all of the units had been counted and locked. As Linda Miles made her rounds to secure the kitchen, classrooms, and medical offices, she wanted to get a ruling on what she should do about sending Allie back to her unit or letting her stay with Bea in the locked cell in Medical. She was grateful when Vera said she'd handle it and after making sure the door was locked, she continued making her rounds.

Allie was leaning against the wall near the head of the bed talking with Bea, who was curled up with her head on her lover's lap. The young woman played with the brown curls and allowed herself the pleasure of being close to the woman who had captured her from the first moment. She loved Bea's chocolate brown eyes that were sprinkled with flecks of gold. She loved her high cheekbones and long, sharp nose. She loved the pouty bottom lip and the way Bea smiled every time she kissed it. And she really loved Bea's voice. After the first time she met Queen Bea, she wrote a poem about her voice and immediately tore it up.

She moved a strand of hair off Bea's forehead and thought about that day. Before they got shopped, Kaz acted like she had a crush on the Top Dog. She'd talk about being like Bea and putting men like Brayden Holt in their place, including putting them underground if necessary. Then they all got shopped for assault and theft charges and Kaz felt betrayed. She had spent three months waiting for the day Bea Smith returned from Walford so she could start taking her down. But when it actually came down to it, Kaz still felt too flustered and told Allie to go set up the meeting.

Allie had heard all the stories about Queen Bea: killing Jacs Holt with a pen, fighting with Frankie with just a box cutter, getting beaten up over and over and still coming out on top, and finally escaping and killing Brayden Holt. So as she walked down the hall, she got more and more nervous. What does a killer look like? What does a fighter look like? What does a queen look like? It turns out she was a curly haired, skinny woman with eyes that burned right through you. She locked eyes with Bea and couldn't remember why she was there.

"Laundry, the change-over" sounded like a cat's tongue, rough and soft at the same time and it made her quiver from her chest to her knees. She almost didn't want to leave and she finally understood why Kaz had a crush.

Every time Allie saw her, she had on baggy, teal sweatpants and sweatshirts and her mind kept wondering what the older woman looked like underneath all those bulky clothes. Allie smiled when she remembered the jolt of pure sexual energy that shot through her when she saw Bea in the shower that first time.

Bea looked up at her and saw the grin. "What?" Allie's grin turned into a big smile and a flush of red to her cheeks. "What is it?" Bea asked, smiling at Allie's blush.

"Do you remember that time in the showers? I was just remembering how I felt the first time I saw you. You had the cutest, roundest arse."

"Allie!" Bea exclaimed and let out a raspy laugh.

"What!? I love your arse."

Bea just smiled and shook her head. "I didn't understand what was going on then. Nobody has ever looked at me the way you did. Fuck. Not even Harry. I thought you were just trying to see how far you could push me before I bashed you." She reached up and touched the eyebrow over Allie right eye. "I'm sorry."

Allie took her hand and kissed it. "I didn't understand then. I just knew I had to have you. I didn't realize how much of a gift that would be."

"Aw. That's really sweet."

"Yeah? You know what else is sweet?"

"Uh uh. What?"

"You are," Allie said as she leaned down and kissed her.

"Umhmm." Bea agreed. She wrapped her hand in Allie hair as their kiss deepened.

They heard the door chime as Vera came through. "Good evening, ladies."

"Governor." "Miss Bennett. How's it going?" they said at the same time.

"Ah, well, it's going."

Bea let Allie help her sit up and she looked at the clock. "Eleven-thirty. You're here late."

"Yes, I've just come back actually. I've been at the hospital and I wanted to see how you were doing before I called it a night."

"I'm okay. Just a few bruises…" Bea's answer made Allie scoff. "… but they'll heal. How's Mel?"

"It doesn't look good I'm afraid. She sustained a massive head injury as a result of her "fall" that has left her with a contrecoup concussion." The two inmates shook their heads at the word.

"Her brain had one impact on the front when she hit the wall and she has contusions, or bruising, there. Then her brain slammed into the back of her skull, on the inside, and got another contusion there. The bruising is like tiny microbleeds and pressure build-up on both sides and all they can do is wait and see if the swelling goes down and if she'll wake up without too much damage."

Vera looked at her hands and realized they were shaking. "Even if she does wake up, she may never walk again. When she hit her head, her neck folded back on itself and the two middle vertebrae were crushed together and the disk was pushed out and into the spinal cord. Right now her reflexes aren't responding. If she wakes up, they might be able to do surgery to repair the broken vertebrae and push the disk back in place, relieving the pressure on her spinal cord."

"If… she wakes up?" Allie asked.

"She lost a lot of blood and she's bleeding internally. They can give her blood thinner to prevent clots but only after they're certain she doesn't have any large bleeds inside her brain. They're running all kinds of tests and scans." Allie looked at Bea and the older woman saw that her lover was trying very hard not to cry. Vera patted her on the arm. "I'm very sorry."

Allie nodded her head and Bea put an arm around her.

"Unfortunately, I have more bad news." They both looked at her. "Regulations restrict more than one patient in a medical cell at a time and I'm going to have to ask Allie to return to H1 for the night."

"No! I won't go. I'll bash my own head if necessary."

"Novak, if you make another threat like that I will have you moved to the psych ward and restrained. Do you understand?" Vera inquired.

"Allie, it's going to be okay. I'm in here safe and sound." Bea tried to sound composed.

"In the span of one day we both have had our skulls bashed and Mel might not walk or worse. How do we know we'll be safe?"

Vera pulled down her jacket and straightened up. "Mr. Ford is already waiting for you in your unit. He has assured me that there will be no more incidents like yesterday."

Allie was still uncertain. "And what about Bea?! Who's going to look after Bea?"

"I will," Will Jackson said as he came through the door.

After their discussion, Vera asked if he was willing to work the graveyard shift tonight and monitor the medical unit. He agreed and went home to change into his uniform. He stepped into the medical cell and had the first opportunity to see Bea in nearly a month.

"How are you feeling?" he asked.

"Banged and bruised but I'm alive, which I wasn't yesterday," she smiled to relieve the tension she felt pouring from him. "So I guess I'm doing okay."

"I'm glad you're doing okay. I'm going to go make a pot of coffee and I'll check back on you in a few minutes."

He left and the three women looked at each other.

"He's still his charming self, you see," Allie said to Bea, who shook her head and snickered.

"Yeah." Bea looked at Vera. "I guess I'll be okay here." She pulled Allie by the hand. "I will see YOU in the morning," she whispered and then she kissed her lover. "You might want to hold off telling Kaz and Boomer anything about Mel until we know more, okay?"

Allie nodded her head. "Okay," she agreed. She knew there was nothing more that anyone could do tonight so giving them more bad news wasn't going to help anything. Kaz had orders to set up a war council tomorrow after Bea got out of Medical and they would explain what was going on with Mel then.

"Oh, Bea, don't go to the showers without me," she said with a wink that got a smirk from her lover.

Allie and Vera passed Will in the hallway and the young blond stopped him. "Mr. Jackson, thanks for watching over my girl."

"Not a problem, Novak. Have a good night."

"Thanks. You too," she replied.

"Thanks again, Will," Vera added. "I will see you in the morning."

"Good night, Governor," Will answered as he returned to the Medical unit.

Bea watched Allie and Vera walk down the hall and turned around only after they were out of sight. She saw Will looking at her and realized he still thought he was looking at a ghost.

"You're not going to punch me, are you?" she asked. "Frankie's already done that for not telling her the truth. I'm sorry we couldn't let you know what was going on. I didn't even know that they had my funeral."

Will just stood there looking at her. As she looked at him, Will saw Queen Bea rise to the surface.

"I heard you did a haka at my funeral. That means a lot. Thank you."

He just nodded and walked out, leaving Bea staring at the closed door.

Nurse Lee Radcliffe came in a few hours later and pulled the curtain around them. She checked Bea's vitals and asked her a few questions about how she was feeling. Bea's only complaint was a headache and Lee gave her some Advil to help with that. She had Bea remove her shirt so she could check Bea's back. Lee was still concerned about the bruising on her back and said that she would check with the doctor to see how much longer Bea needed to stay on the anti-coagulant. She also checked Bea's stomach wound and saw that it was healing well and she said that she was glad that it hadn't been damaged by the attack.

"You're lucky that whoever attacked you was more interested in hurting you, and maybe humiliating you, than trying to actually kill you," Lee told her. "If those wounds get torn open you could bleed out before anyone has a chance to save you."

Bea nodded, understanding. She was still very vulnerable and needed to give her body time to completely heal before she started a war. And she needed to get off the anti-coagulant. She didn't need to give anyone a sign that she was weak.

"And you might want to stay away from the showers for a while."

Bea laughed. "I would get pretty ripe and my girlfriend might have something to say about that."

Lee smiled. "Then either you or she had better become top dog and take care of whoever keeps hurting everyone."

Bea nodded. "That might have to be part of the plan," she thought to herself.

"You can get dressed now," the nurse suggested.

As she reached for Bea's shirt on the cart, it toppled over and made a loud racket as metal and plastic pans hit the tile floor. Will came running in and pushed open the curtain but he slid to a stop when he saw Bea standing there in only her bra, the bruises deep shades of purple on her chest and the long scar a red slash across her stomach. He gasped at the painful looking scar and Bea grabbed the bed sheet to cover herself.

"Ss…sorry…sorry," he stuttered as he turned around. "I heard the crash. Is everything okay?"

"It's fine," Nurse Radcliffe said. "The tray fell over. No one got hurt." She bent down and started picking up the pans and equipment and handed Bea her shirt as Will walked out again. "Well, he's a charmer," she said flatly. "Okay, I'll see you in the morning. Hit the call button if you need anything, okay?"

Bea nodded and said, "Thank you."

She climbed back into bed and tried to fall asleep but her mind keep playing and replaying the attack. Rushing into the shower room, getting pushed from behind, falling to the floor, getting kicked over and over, and then feeling her hair being grabbed and being pulled up over the sink. The sharp shiv ripped through her clothes and she could feel Juice's breath on her neck. She could hear Mel's muted screams and then the weightlessness when Juice was forced to let go of her hair to fight the small girl.

She didn't even know she was crying until Allie was wrapped around her and rocking her, telling her it was going to be okay and that she was just having a bad dream. She looked up and realized that she was in Medical but was confused because Allie was there with her. Then she saw Will in the corner, his face pale with concern. As Allie rocked her, Bea gave him a silent "thank you" and he nodded and walked away. She folded into her lover's arms and allowed herself to be comforted and lulled gently back to sleep.


	8. Chapter 8

S5E4: Scene 8

Bea was anxious to get out of Medical and she rushed through the door as soon as Nurse Radcliffe released her. Allie had stayed with her and she was able to sleep the rest of the night. She woke up refreshed and ready to get on with her life. As Bea and Allie walked down the hall, the women parted to let them pass. A few asked if she knew how Mel was, and she said that she heard that the doctors were still running tests.

They walked into H1 and found their mates sitting around the table having a morning cuppa before being called to breakfast. Allie smiled and winked at Liz who offered to make them some tea.

"I just want to get washed and changed before breakfast. And I guess I need to find out what's going on with Mel." Liz handed her a warm cup. "Thank you."

Kaz and the other women from Red Right Hand came in and Bea looked at her inquisitively. Kaz nodded.

"In the laundry after lunch," was all she said and Bea nodded.

Kaz had sent out word secretly that anyone who wanted to fight back against Sonia, Juice and Tina, should try to get to the laundry after lunch. She wasn't sure who would come but it would help them assess how much support they could rely on in their upcoming clash.

Bea kept wandering around the room and the other women watched her. Allie could barely contain her laughter as her lover went from the refrigerator to the couch and then back to the table.

"Bea, did you want to change before breakfast?"

"What? Oh, yeah? I don't know why I'm so distracted. How come this place is such a mess?"

Maxine started to get up. "Sorry. I guess I haven't done the cleaning in a while."

"Na," Bea said as she gently pushed Maxine back into her chair. "It's not just your job. Everyone should be chipping in." Bea started gathering all the empty cups on the table.

"Bea," Allie said slightly louder.

"What?"

"Go change. I'll clean up."

"Yeah. Okay."

Bea pulled open the door to her cell but couldn't step inside. "What the fuck!?" she exclaimed. "What's all of this?!"

The women all started laughing and Allie walked over and put her arms around her waist. Bea turned and looked at her.

"What the fuck is all of this?" Bea asked again.

"Apparently, the women feel like they'd rather pay you the tax than Sonia."

"Allie, my cell is FULL of stuff. I can't even walk in and where'in'hell is my bed?"

Allie looked into Bea's cell and laughed. There were baskets of food, clothing, books, blankets, and toiletries piled high on Bea's bed. There were more baskets on the floor in front of Bea's bed.

Boomer looked over their shoulders. "There are seventeen baskets full."

"Seventeen?!" Bea was flabbergasted. "Where did it all come from?"

"Everyone," Liz answered. "D-Block, C-Block, some from A-Block. The women are tired of being forced to buy Tina's gear or pay the tax."

Bea reached into her cell and grabbed a change of clothes off the bookcase by the door. "I'm going to get changed and then we're giving this all back."

"What! Aw, Bea! Can't we keep it?" Boomer moaned.

"No, Boomer. None of us have much; I'm not taking what the women have earned."

Kaz came over to the door and looked in. "Bea, I was wrong about you. The women wouldn't have done all of this if you had been a tyrant. If you want to take Sonia and Juice down, me and the Red Right Hand are with you."

"Kaz," Bea leaned in closely. "You're going to have to do exactly what I say and that's not going to be easy. We have to follow the plan or it's all going to go to shit, ya hear?"

Kaz nodded.

"No flying off on your own."

Kaz nodded.

"No revenge. No matter what. Until I say so."

Kaz nodded.

"And then we'll crush her."

Kaz sneered and growled. "When you're done, I get Juice. For Mel. For Allie." Kaz put out her hand.

Bea nodded. "Okay." She shook Kaz's hand. Then she took Allie's hand and walked across the room to her cell and closed the door.

Allie leaned against the door and watched appreciatively as Bea changed clothes. "Are you going to tell her the real plan?" Allie asked.

Bea looked up at her and frowned, and then shook her head.  
****************

They had to get help from some of the other women to get all of the baskets to the cafeteria. C and D-Block were just finishing breakfast and E and F-Block were on their way in. Bea asked the guards if she could talk to all of them before the change-over.

"I understand that this was for me but I don't want it. I have never asked you to pay me. All I want is to keep the gear out of this prison so we can make the best of what little we have. Take what you gave back; help each other if you want. I don't need it. Remember, they can't bash everyone if we all refuse to buy into their plan. No one can force you to buy drugs or pay for drugs you'll never use just to line their pockets. If you want to stop, then stop."

She had the women bring the baskets in and lined the far wall.

"Thank you all for this. Have a vote and decide who you want for Top Dog. But right now, I just want to have as normal a life as possible."

Lea got up from the table and walked over to the baskets. She found a small jar and handed it to Bea. "At least take this," she said.

Bea looked down and saw it was a bottle of red hair dye and she looked up and smiled. She nodded and took the bottle. "Okay. But just this."

She gave the long-timer a quick hug and showed the bottle to Allie.

"Sweet!" her girlfriend said with a smile.  
***************

"You are having far too much fun with this," Bea said as she looked in the mirror at her lover.

"Well, I think it's time we did." She pulled the wet hair to the side and gave Bea a kiss on the neck that got her a moan. "We have been drugged, drowned, and died. I have you back and I'm ready to live." She leaned around and kissed her lover then looked in the mirror. "There ya' go. What do you think?"

"Mm. Looks like I have my own stylist too." She turned her head left and right. "It looks great."

Bea ran her fingers through the newly-dyed red curls. Allie had shaved the sides except she left one long strand of red that hung down the side, and Allie had braided it and added a little gold bead at the bottom. Bea looked at the bead and then looked at the young blond woman who had captured her heart.

"So you know I'm with you," Allie answered.

Bea looked at her in the mirror and she became very serious. "You know I don't need this to know that."

Allie nodded. "It's so they all know it too," she said, making a big circle with her hand.

She brushed a strand of hair out of her eyes with her gloved hand and made a long streak of red that was close to where Bea's new braid was.

"Oh no," Bea said. "You might want to wash that off before it sets."

But Allie looked at it and decided she would keep it.  
******************

At one-thirty in the afternoon, Bea and Allie walked down the hall toward the laundry, followed by Kaz, Maxine, Boomer, Liz, Doreen, Soz, and Snortz. As they turned into the laundry, Bea was surprised to find only three women waiting for them. She sighed as her shoulders slumped and a sense of defeat came over her. This was going to be harder than she thought.

The first, Bea recognized as the older woman in the visitors center who had a twin sister. The second woman was a round woman with round glasses whom she didn't recognize. And the third was a thin woman with long brown hair that hung in waves down her back.

Bea looked at Kaz and shrugged. "I suppose it's a start," she said. "That gives us twelve people," she said, although she was skeptical that the old twin was going to be much help.

The older woman smiled and took a step forward. "C Block is with you," she said solemnly.

Bea could hear Liz and Doreen whispering "Good on'ya" and "Righto."

The third one stepped forward and smiled at her. "D Block is with you too." And then she gave Kaz a wink, which caused her to turn an interesting shade of red that Allie had never seen before.

Bea looked at Allie and then Maxine. "There you go," Maxine said with a smile.

They all turned to the woman in the center with the round glasses and Bea raised her eyebrows.

"Oh, my turn… Um… Well, I'm just down the hall from ya' in H4. I came in last night. I've already been threatened by knife-point to either buy the drugs they were selling or pay into some kind of community assistance fund, which just sounds like extortion to me. Frankie says Hi and I'm to tell you that I'm pretty good with computers."  
******************

By dinner time, the two women watching the CC TV had counted twenty-seven women with red braids matching Bea and Allie's.

"What are you going to do?" Bridget asked Vera as she poured her a glass of wine.

"Well, I know the department frowns on this sort of thing. If we allow them to continue, other gang tags may start showing up and we could end up with turf wars all over the prison."

Bridget took a drink of the rich, red Barolo and waited for Vera to finish her thought process.

"But if Smith realizes how much support she really has, then maybe she will reclaim Top Dog and we can get Mercado and Gambaro back under control."

"And what about Sonia Stevens?" Bridget asked.

"Her hearing is in a month. They haven't found any physical evidence linking Stevens to the murder so I'm not sure they can convict her. She could actually be out in four weeks and we might be able to keep a war from happening." Vera looked at the monitor and giggled. "I wonder where everyone got the red dye from?" she asked as she counted three more women.

Bridget reached into her purse and pulled out a handful of little sample packs of red hair color and tossed them on the table in front of Vera. The governor gave her a shocked look and then laughed. Then she picked one up and held it against her hair.

"What do you think?" she asked as they shared a laugh and the rest of their wine.


End file.
